12

Chapter 2: Management Practices to Decrease Inputs at Lambing and

Kidding

Table of Contents Specific Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 12

Planning Ahead to Lower Labor and Operating Costs ...................................................................... 13

Readying Dams and Facilities ........................................................................................................... 18

Checking for and Assisting Births ..................................................................................................... 18

If you use artificial heat ..................................................................................................................... 22

Extra feeding, bedding and watering ................................................................................................. 24

Problem animals................................................................................................................................. 25

Handling the Birthing Season ............................................................................................................ 26

A Review of Bonding in Goats and Sheep ........................................................................................ 28

Why do farmers use jugs? .................................................................................................................. 31

Artificial Rearing ............................................................................................................................... 34

Grafting newborns ............................................................................................................................. 36

Handling animals ............................................................................................................................... 40

Creep Feeding .................................................................................................................................... 41

Suggested Activities ........................................................................................................................... 42

Specific Objectives

1. Identify some of the main factors influencing neonatal (newborn) mortality.

2. Describe ways to manage at least two of these factors to enhance animal performance.

3. Distinguish between the time demands of different labor tasks during lambing or kidding.

4. List methods to more efficiently manage two or more of these tasks.

5. Explain the bonding process between dams and offspring.

6. Evaluate and compare methods for artificially rearing and fostering (grafting) newborns that

cannot be raised by their own dams.

13

Planning Ahead to Lower Labor and Operating Costs

The previous chapter focused on the possible benefits of lowering inputs at lambing and

kidding. It pointed out that increased labor at birthing does not necessary go hand in hand with

increased herd productivity. The remainder of this resource guide provides specific suggestions

to reduce inputs without compromising flock or herd performance.

Ways to keep labor and operating costs down vary with the seasons and depend on your

farm’s unique situation. However, there are some generalizations that generally hold true.

One of these is that neonatal mortality is primarily determined by:

• Your herd’s preventative health management program

• Your herd’s nutritional program

• The suitability of your facilities for your season of birthing

• Litter size, offspring size at birth

• Unexpected catastrophic health problems

Each year, review the health problems that most impacted your dams and their lamb or kid

crop and determine how likely these problems are to repeat themselves and whether you can

prevent them or improve your handling of them in the future. Are there vaccines for these

problems? Does your parasite management program need adjustment? Do you need to lower

your animal density or do a better job of separating younger offspring from older lambs or kids?

An important part of this review is evaluating how well your nutritional management

program is working. The body condition scores of dams, and the weight and vigor of their

newborns at birthing are important indicators of whether the nutritional diet you are providing to

dams during pregnancy is sufficient and manger space per dam is sufficient (at least 1 linear ft.

per dam). Feed rations that are either too limited or excessive in nutrients can lead to ketosis

problems in pregnant dams and to newborns that are abnormally small or large for their breed

with accompanying increases in mortality rates at birth and shortly after. Plan ahead when

feeding yearling ewes or doelings birthing at a young age. Design their rations to promote good

growth in these young mothers in early and mid-pregnancy rather than waiting until late

14

pregnancy to “throw the food to them.” Sudden nutritional increases in late pregnancy to try to

make up for growth deficiencies in young dams results in the nutrition being shunted to the

fetuses rather than the dams leading to newborns that may be too large for easy delivery.

It is also important to evaluate the ration provided to all dams during lactation by observing

the body condition scores of dams and the growth rates and survivability of their lambs or kids.

Penciling out the amount of nutrients provided in the feed diet to compare to recommended

levels for your animal species and production phase is a very useful though time consuming

process. If the age makeup of your dams is changing (for example your dams are birthing at a

younger age than in the past) or your average litter size has changed significantly, you may need

to readjust a feed ration that has worked well in the past. If feed prices are increasing, compare

whether increasing the quality of your forage while decreasing the amount of concentrate fed can

help lower the feed bill without compromising quality. If feeding a prepackaged commercial

grain, obtaining a similar diet in bulk from local feed mills or grain farmers may also help cut

down feed costs without decreasing animal performance.

In a grass-fed enterprise, there are sometimes situations where forage is plenty, dams are in

good body condition, yet offspring are growing slower than expected due to either low milk

production and/or heavy parasite loads. Causes of poor milk production in grass-fed dams may

be related to heat stress or genetics but may also reflect forage quality as compared to forage

quantity. A common problem is not moving animals fast enough through the pastures leading in

turn to dams that are eating forage that is too mature and too high in indigestible fiber to support

good milk production. Having your forage tested can help to narrow down nutritional problems.

Additionally, keep in mind that forages that are excessively high in indigestible fiber in late

pregnancy predispose grass-fed dams to ketosis especially if dams are carrying large litters.

Forages fed in late pregnancy to grass-fed dams should be high in fermentable fiber and fed in

large enough quantities to allow dams to reject the most mature plant parts.

How adequate the facilities are for the season of the year a flock or herd is giving birth in

impacts newborn mortality rates. Cold, drafty barns caused some of our participating winter

farmers to check for births every hour of the night because of newborns freezing if not dried

immediately after birthing. These same farmers, probably unwisely, often perceived bedding the

barn or shearing ewes at this time as an unfeasible use of their labor.

15

A good barn for winter birthing is draft free at the animals’ level. However, good air

quality is paramount to discourage pneumonia problems. Therefore, good ventilation is essential

to avoid ammonia and moisture build up. Fans, wind resistant screening, raised roofing,

insulation, and adjustable barn windows and doors were all methods some farmers effectively

employed to keep barns at reasonable temperatures for birthing while still insuring healthy air

quality. An enormous amount of time can be spent on

constantly checking for newborns to prevent lamb or kid

“popsicles”. Farmers who had invested labor and/or expense

to carry out facility improvements appeared satisfied with

their decisions and reported reduced labor demands.

Other options include switching to a season of

birthing more compatible with your facilities or crossbreeding

with a breed that is better fitted. This was the main reason

why some of our sheep farmers introduced Romanov genetics

into their flocks despite the low value of Romanov fleece

(Figure 2-1).

Litter size and offspring size at birth are important

determinants of newborn mortality. Very large or small newborns are less likely to survive and

overly large offspring predispose a dam to delivery problems. As discussed earlier, one of the

primary management practices influencing the size of newborns is the mid/late pregnancy diet of

their dams. Litter size also has an influence on the size of newborns and their growth and

survival until weaning. Large litters must compete more strenuously for nutrients both during

pregnancy and lactation. Discouraging exceptionally large litters by elimination of nutritional

flushing at breeding may be a practical solution for some farm enterprises. Crossbreeding with

breeds with low reproductive rates is another possibility for farms that want to lower litter size

but may be unreliable or counterproductive to flock/herd profitability. Other alternatives include

bringing in genetics for better milk production or managing the herd so that large litters can be

separated out to meet their additional nutritional needs.

During the course of our study, the main reasons for high mortality rates in newborns

were unexpected catastrophic health problems. Examples encountered during the 4 year study

Figure 2-1. Crossbreeding with breeds such as Romanov is one method to increase winter hardiness

16

were: Floppy Kid Syndrome, iodine deficiencies, Cache Valley Virus, and E.coli outbreaks.

Frankly, Cache Valley Virus is not treatable and the affected farmer made a conscious decision

to get a good night’s sleep every night and wake up early to assist any ewe needing assistance

delivering deformed lambs. The farmer attributed the disease to the failure of the flock to breed

early in the out of season (anestrus) period so that breeding instead occurred from July 7th

through mid-August evidently resulting in fetuses being exposed to carrier mosquito populations

at critical infection periods. The farmer’s future plans include removing the rams for July and

August.

Iodine deficiencies (Figure 2-2) in one herd that had planned to participate in our

lambing/kidding study resulted in ~70% neonatal

mortality. The deficiency was attributed to

preferential eating of a Selenium salt block by does in

late pregnancy. The block contained iodized salt and

the animals were also being offered a loose trace

mineral containing iodine. However, the farmer

observed that they were not eating the loose salt and

spent a great deal of time licking the hard Selenium

block without making much of a dent in it. The

deficiency may have occurred because the physical

properties of the block made it hard for the does to consume sufficient amounts of iodine from it

or possibly the iodine had leached from the block. Treatment following veterinarian

recommendation consisted of removing the Selenium salt block, refreshing the loose salt feeder

with fresh trace mineral mix containing iodine, adding soluble iodine to the water following label

recommendations, parting the hair on the backs of pregnant does and squirting the exposed skin

with 2 ml. of 7% iodine tincture and putting iodine tincture on the teats of dams. Within a week,

the situation corrected itself. It is recommended that farmers make sure their dams are

consuming loose minerals containing iodized salt during late pregnancy and lactation, and check

that any salt in grain mixes being fed is also iodized.

Floppy Kid Syndrome does not occur immediately at birth. Thus, farmers who are not

already exhausting themselves checking for births may be more able to cope with it. The

Figure 2-2. Iodine deficiencies may result in hairless newborns with goiters

17

problem occurs in kids, lambs and calves within a few days of birth. The young animals

suddenly get poor muscle tone because of too much acidity in their stomachs. The actual cause is

not well understood. During an episode of Floppy kid, newborns that are getting lots of milk

appear to exhibit the problem far more than offspring getting restricted milk (i.e. large litters).

Standard treatment generally consists of oral treatment with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda),

restricting milk consumption by substituting with electrolytes/sugars temporarily, and

administering antibiotics. The participating farmer in our study lost approximately 22% of their

kids to the disease from Day 1 to Day 7. The disease had repeated itself in the herd which is

atypical. In some cases, Clostridium bacteria have been implicated as a possible culprit.

Historically, the farmer had never vaccinated for Clostridium C & D. The farmer decided to

implement a Clostridium C & D vaccination program and make sure that dams were always

vaccinated prior to birth in the hope of never experiencing this disease again. The problem has

not recurred in the herd since he started vaccinating but this may well be coincidental. The

farmer’s view was that the cost and time involved in vaccination were not substantial.

A possible outbreak of E. coli in one participating goat farm resulted in 29 kids dying

(~10% of the entire kid crop) between 1 to 7 days of age during the first two weeks of winter

kidding. The relatively well rested farm manager reviewed herd management changes and

determined that rather than using shavings for bedding that year, he had switched to straw from a

local cow dairy. Checking confirmed that the straw field had been fertilized with calf manure.

The farm’s veterinarian suggested off label usage of an E. coli antiserum labeled for newborn

lambs as well as calves. Mortality from diarrhea ceased when the farm started administering the

antiserum at birth. The farmer credited the rapid correction to luck and quick thinking. An

exhausted farmer may not have had the time or energy to rapidly put this scenario together. It is

important for farmers to keep in mind that getting exhausted at lambing and kidding may

actually impede their ability to respond to a crisis.

The following sections describe different tasks at birthing and how they can be managed

more efficiently. Keep in mind that what works for one farm may not always make sense for

another farm or season of birthing.

18

Readying Dams and Facilities

Readying your dams and facilities for birthing may take as much as day or two of

preparation. However, according to our study, these hours are not substantial when compared to

1) the overall labor spent during birthing and 2) their benefits. Vaccinating dams for overeating

disease (enterotoxemia) and tetanus more than 10 days prior to lambing or kidding is much more

effective at protecting their offspring than attempting to vaccinate kids and lambs at birth which

provides essentially no protection. If newborns are from unvaccinated dams, time must be spent

giving them tetanus antitoxin when docked, castrated or disbudded for short term temporary

protection rather than depending on tetanus toxoid vaccines at birth. Most participating farms

sheared ewes that were in full fleece 2 weeks to 2 months prior to lambing to encourage ewes to

seek protected areas for lambing, help warm lambs when snuggling up with their dams, ease

crowding and make it easier for lambs to find udders. All but one farm crutched their fleeced

ewes prior to lambing if they were not being sheared.

When at all possible, piggy back multiple tasks to avoid having to repeatedly handle

dams. For example, many farms used this time to also trim hooves, spray paint dams for easy

distance identification, check udders and general health (body condition, FAMACHA scores -

anemia status for worms), replace ear tags, separate dams into separate pastures or birthing

groups, etc. Some farms used this time for identifying dams with udder issues (low slung, scar

tissue, blind teats or large teats) to separate into closer pastures or pens in anticipation of needing

more attention at birthing. Recording identifications at this time for future culling is also helpful.

Having good handling or working facilities cuts down on the time spent preparing dams

for birthing and was the major reason for variability in time spent among farms handling dams

prior to birthing. Even primitive facilities make a difference. One farm that normally cornered

dams in a small barn for handling found that the time spent increased from 1.5 man hours

reported for previous years to 4 man hours when they instead had to work their pregnant does in

a large outside paddock where they were individually chased down. The barn was

simultaneously being cleaned and they had opted to not postpone vaccinating, FAMACHA

scoring and selectively deworming does until the following day in order to “not waste time.”

19

Checking for and Assisting Births

One of the most time consuming and exhausting tasks for many farms during birthing is

checking for and assisting births. It is well worthwhile to ask what methods a farm can adopt to

spend less time at this task without decreasing herd productivity.

Are you on the farm a lot already? – This doesn’t seem to reduce the time spent for

birthing checks unless the farmer finds something productive to do within easy monitoring range

of the birthing area. Some stay-at-home farmers in our study, spent more than 12 extra hours per

day during birthing because they stopped all other activities to observe each birth. In contrast

farmers who planned activities such as hoof trimming in adjacent pens, machinery repairs in

nearby sheds or tractor work in nearby fields were able to get a lot of other work done while still

keeping abreast of birthing. Anecdotally, farms with constant watching seemed to have longer

labors and more complications. There were two separate motivations for constant watching. One

was the philosophy that “I got her pregnant and should be there for her” and the other was that

“offspring from my farm’s bloodlines are so valuable that I MUST invest in round the clock

monitoring to make sure the births are risk free”. However, mortality rates in our study seemed

to suggest that a belief that the dam is the one delivering the newborns and can handle a normal

labor without active interference appeared to be healthier for the dam and less likely to interfere

with her proper hormonal responses to the advancing stages of labor. During peak birthing

periods, time can be saved by carrying

clean OB gloves in a pocket and having

7% iodine tincture available for dipping in

each barn rather than planning on going

back to a central area to retrieve a tote box

of birthing supplies for every birth.

Are the animals in easy view? If

possible plan birthing facilities so that they

are relatively centralized and easy to

observe during the normal course of your

day. Having to drive to barns on other

properties or move between barns or

Figure 2-3. This farmer has assigned a lambing pasture viewable from both his house and hay fields

20

pastures that are distant from each other to check for births adds appreciatively to labor.

However, avoid having a lot of commotion in the birthing areas. It makes sense to have the

birthing barn or pasture peaceful at the time you would ideally prefer births to occur. Dams

should be well acclimatized to any activities that go on in the area. The presence of strange dogs,

noises, etc. can cause them to try to delay birthing.

The frequency of rumen contractions in cattle tends to drop sharply in the last couple of

hours before calving. Most studies indicate that restricting the forage feeding of cattle to night

rather than day helps to decrease the incidence of night time calving. In contrast, the time of day

of birthing in sheep and goats seems to be related to their circadian rhythm with more birthings

occurring during the daylight hours when dams are well awake and both dams and fetuses have

reduced plasma melatonin levels. For this reason, some of our study farmers avoid major

feedings in the late afternoon or night and make extra efforts to avoid disturbing the sleep of

pregnant animals during night time checks. Still others fed their only grain feeding at noon

following the suggestions by Ron Parker in the Sheep Book for resetting the “metabolic clock”.

There are probably many factors that influence the time of day when a ewe or doe is going to

give birth. However, most studies with sheep and goats have shown that births in these species

are not regularly distributed over a 24 hour period. Instead there are high incidence times of day

for both lambing and kidding. If you like the pattern your animals have fallen into, stick with

your current feed and barn activity patterns.

Dealing with night time checks? Involving other family members or employees helps to

combat exhaustion by assigning people to regular shifts. However, most farmers are on their

own when it comes to checking for births. Middle of the night checks can be particularly

stressful and should be organized so that a farmer can readily return to sleep if there is no

activity. Wear clothing/pajamas such as sweat pants that allow a quick return to bed after

shedding barn overalls. When possible, make it easy on your body by planning checks for the

same time each night. Knowing when individual animals are due can help to eliminate or

decrease checks on nights when few animals are likely to birth.

21

Monitors? Depending on how they

are used, monitors, web cams, or video

cameras (Figure 2-4) may help eliminate the

necessity for frequent birthing checks.

However, they also make it difficult to “leave

the barn behind”. One farmer indicated that

when she started to work fulltime off the

farm, she turned her baby monitor off and

instead confined her barn checks to specific

times because she needed uninterrupted time

to focus on family, meal preparation and

sleep. Others complained that if they had

already had a lot of birthing that day the bleat

of a two hour old kid seeking its dam was

difficult to distinguish from a new born kid and that they had to train themselves to only respond

to the sound of does in actual labor.

The advantage of an audio system such as a baby monitor or intercom is that light

sleepers can use them to substitute for some of their birthing checks. Some farmers indicated

that they set their alarm for “birthing checks” but rather than going out to the barn when the

alarm went off, turned on their baby monitor, video camera or webcam and went back to sleep if

there was no activity. Others indicated that they checked their monitors first thing in the

morning and if there was birthing activity, delayed going out to feed and disrupting the flock

unless labor appeared abnormal.

Cameras and webcams can be hooked into either your TV or computer. In buying a

monitor make sure that it is suitable for your distance. Compare costs and consider your life

style when deciding what sort of monitor and link to invest in. Be sure to consider location when

placing monitors in the barn. You want optimum viewing of your birthing animals. Rain on a

metal roof can drown out baby monitors. In summary, monitors helped most to combat farmer

exhaustion at night when used to replace specific birthing checks rather than in an attempt to

increase the time spent surveying animals.

Figure 2-4. An example of video cameras wired into a split screen TV

22

Are your facilities suitable for

unassisted birthing? Having facilities that

meet the weather requirements of the season of

birthing make it less critical for a farmer to be

present to dry and warm newborns. However, it

also helps if you’ve done some troubleshooting

and feel confident your facilities are safe for

dams to birth in unassisted. Trenches and low

spots in pastures can pose drowning and

hypothermia dangers. Pole gates or gaps in

walls that dams can push against during labor may need

reinforcement with livestock panels to make sure newborns

cannot slip through during delivery and become separated

from their dams (Figure 2-5). Sleeping benches or hideaways

that newborns can crawl into may be problematic in cold

weather because newborns will seek dark draft-free areas

and fixate on trying to nurse off overhangs (view video).

Plug up these areas if birthing checks are infrequent.

If you use artificial heat

Barns do not have to be warm for safe lambing and

kidding. Ambient temperatures of 33 to 50˚ F are often ideal

for birthing in a draft free environment. However, some

participating farmers in our study found themselves checking pregnant animals hourly or every

two hours around the clock because of severe cold in their barns. In this case, investing in

insulation or even a heating system to minimally warm your barn or litters may significantly help

reduce labor. If you do need to use routine artificial heat consider the cost and safety of different

alternatives and make sure to address humidity and ventilation concerns which can predispose

animals to prevent pneumonia.

Figure 2-5. Kid/Lamb proof your facilities so newborns cannot be easily separated from dams

Figure 2-6. A propane furnace in combination with insulate boards is used to keep this lambing barn above freezing

23

Every year barns and livestock are lost to heat lamps. Those farmers in our study who

routinely used heat lamps generally used 125 to 175 watt bulbs. Close use of 250 watt heat lamps

resulted in neonatal deaths on at least one farm. Farmers using heat lamps employed many

mandatory safety measures including heat resistant plastic guards, two methods of secure

hanging support at all times (do not count on the cord to support the lamp) and thoughtful

placement of heat lamps(e.g. ≥30 inches above bedding, ≥20

inches above animals). They emphasized that curious goats

readily hank on cords and/or upset lamps if they can reach

them. Newborns should be dried before being left under lamps

and able to readily move away from lamps if too warm. Cost to

use 125 watt heat lamps for 8 hours per litter in 2009 totaled

$6.25 for 50 litters assuming an electricity cost of 12.5 cents

per kWh(Kilowatt hour) as compared to $12.50 if using 250

watt lamps. However, if the heat lamps were used for 3 days

per litter, total cost to heat 50 litters was $56.25 and $102.50

for 125 and 250 watt heat lamps, respectively.

Overhead radiant heat is less effective at warming a

large number of animals than warming the air directly (Figure 2-7). One study farm employed 17

radiant lamps on 20 foot centers to radiantly heat the lambing barn 24 hrs./day when lambing out

172 ewes during their typical 28 day winter lambing season (Figure 2-7). The lamp fixtures

were ~12 feet above the bedding and utilized 1000 watts each to increase the overall barn

temperature ~10 ˚F. Assuming an electricity cost of 12.5 cents per kWh in 2009, total heating

cost for winter lambing was approximately

$1428.

Another participating farmer had a

two tiered barn and fitted the outer walls

of the low-ceiling section with insulate

boards many years earlier for housing late

pregnancy ewes. During winter lambing,

a butane furnace hanging in the alley way

Figure 2-7.Overhead radiant lamps may not be cost effective to warm up large areas

Figure 2-8. Insulated room with portable heater

24

runs off a thermostat set at 40 ˚F to keep lambs comfortable and water thawed. Propane cost to

maintain the area (~720 sq. ft.) housing 32 litters at 40 ˚F for ~3 months in 2009 was

approximately $150 (Figure 2-6). Another large farm invested in a 240 sq. ft. insulated room

maintained at 50 to 60 ˚F using a small 40,000 BTU portable forced air propane heater running

off of 20 lb. propane bottles (Figure 2-8). Litters of sheep and goats were moved to the room

after birthing and left there approximately 8 hours to ensure a good start in life. Cost to build the

room was substantial. Approximately 33 newborns passed through the room weekly in 2009

during the staggered 12 week long winter birthing period at a propane cost of approximately

$50/week. Other farms employed various types of heat to warm converted milk rooms fitted with

claiming pens (jugs). Keep in mind that pneumonia, carbon monoxide poisoning (combustion

heaters) and electrical fires (electric heaters) are life-threatening hazards associated with artificial

heating.

Many winter birthing farms participating in our study had invested in facilities that were

very adequate without the use of routine artificial heat. One of these utilized large south facing

windows and skylights to passively warm their jug area. Good planning when designing,

insulating or renovating your barn can help alleviate cold weather concerns.

Extra feeding, bedding and watering

Most farmers who clean barns shortly before birthing complete the task (particularly in

winter) by disinfecting and re-bedding the pens. This usually does not take much time or

expense and helps discourage infections (udder, uterine, newborn) at birthing. Additional

bedding for sheep and particularly for goats in our study was often in the form of discarded hay

from the mangers. Selection allows sheep and goats to select a forage diet that is higher in both

fermentable fiber and protein than when animals are required to clean up all their forage.

Providing sufficient forage at birthing so that animals can practice some selection while re-

bedding their pens themselves, is often a rational management decision. The amount of selection

to allow depends on the quality and diversity of the forage.

Deep bedding worked for most of our barn birthing farms. Farms that instead cleaned

barns on a weekly basis indicated that this was because of labor issues, i.e. children that could be

used to clean the barn only if manure was not allowed to build up too much, or employees who

needed regular hours rather than being able to free up enough time for a major barn cleaning.

25

The extra time it took to feed a herd of birthing/nursing dams versus a herd of dry dams

in the barn during winter was usually pretty insignificant. Feeding late pregnancy and dams with

offspring in the barn was only noticeably more time consuming than feeding dry females in our

study on farms where dry females are housed outside consuming round bales or stockpiled

forage. Even then the time spent was very minimal compared to other labor demands at birthing.

With the exception of animals in jugs (individual claiming pens), labor demands for extra

watering were a minor part of the labor associated with birthing.

However, time is often at a premium during lambing or kidding. Even though it does not

take that much more time to bed, feed and water late pregnancy and nursing dams as compared

to dry ones, these tasks as a whole still take time. Anything that can be done prior to birthing

season to streamline these tasks will help reduce the labor burden at birthing.

Problem animals

A single problem animal can consume an incredible amount of time. This was especially

true of severe cases of ketosis and, to a lesser extent, hypothermic newborns. Monitoring of

appetites in late pregnancy dams is important for early detection of ketosis. In our study,

drenching dams that were starting to go off feed twice with propylene glycol used up about 10

extra minutes (view video of 13 mo. old doeling carrying triplets whose ketosis was caught and

treated early) and adjusting management on vulnerable dams by providing additional manger

space, nutrition and exercise did not contribute significantly to labor. In contrast, a single case of

full blown ketosis on one farm eventually requiring induced delivery and caesarian section

resulted in approximately 17.75 extra hours of farmer labor, while an advanced case at another

farm requiring forced feeding/drenching 4 times daily as well as medication and the offering of a

wide choice of grains and forages for two weeks contributed to14.25 extra hours of farmer labor.

It is important to establish SOPs (standards operating procedures) for commonly

experienced health problems as well as to implement preventative management practices. Some

examples of 1) health SOPS, 2) procedures for tube feeding and giving interperitineal

injections, and 3) a flow chart for treating hypothermic offspring are available in the

Appendix of this handbook. Be sure that medical supplies and SOPs for early treatment of

these health problems are kept together and easily accessed. Set up equipment and supplies for

dealing with dystocia and handling hypothermic newborns at the beginning of the birthing

26

season rather than having to locate and assemble this equipment during an emergency. Prior to

birthing season, determine how animals requiring euthanasia will be handled. Acknowledging

beforehand that some death of lambs and kids at birth is inevitable may also help to alleviate

stress.

Being able to readily and regularly observe the herd or flock allows early detection of

health problems in individual animals. Some experienced farmers have easy methods to gently

startle the herd such as clapping hands against metal panels that allow them to quickly observe

young stock and identify those with atypical behavior. Healthy lambs and kids will usually

stretch, urinate and seek their dam’s udder when their rest is interrupted. Sick adults, weak

young, mis-mothering, and severe dystocia can take up a lot of time. Performance records should

include information to help identify dams with dystocia problems, health problems, poor udders,

weak offspring or mothering issues for potential culling. Several farmers in our study who spent

less time checking for and assisting births had previously culled dams based on dystocia and/or

poor mothering as an important component of their breeding program.

Handling the Birthing Season

The amount of time spent handling birthing season varied widely from farm to farm in

our on-farm study. How well organized a farmer is influences the amount of time spent on

birthing activities. Lactating dams have the highest feed and water requirements in a herd or

flock. Therefore time is saved by housing

them as close to their feed storage as

possible and in a facility where they are

easily watered. Almost all the large herds or

flocks in our study used automatic waterers

for dams housed off of pastures. If dams and

their offspring are going to be housed in

individual small pens (jugs) after birthing

make sure that the panels to assemble the

jugs and the necessary bedding for them are

stored within easy reach during the season.

Figure 2-9. Grain storage and jug panels situated right next to the kidding

27

Watering in jugs was time consuming in our

study because none of the farms were able to

employ automated waterers for jugs. A recent

webinar put on by the American Sheep Institute and

the Pipestone Lamb and Wool Program promoted

running 6” plastic piping along rows of jugs with

openings cut in the top side of the pipes at each jug

(Figure 2-10) to help save labor in barns that are

maintained above freezing during lambing. Keep in

mind that it is important that watering systems be

reliable in very cold temperatures when using jugs

during winter. One farm whose barn water froze

one year during the peak of lambing reported that over a 3 day period in which 75 lambs were

born they put in 51 extra man hours with the majority of the time spent fetching water from the

house to individually water the jugged litters.

Most farms in our study did not report additional hours of labor because of the increased

feeding requirements of lactating dams. However, well thought out feeding systems help

farmers to have more time available to focus on birthing. One farm reported significant labor

savings overall by relocating all feeders to the interior fence line for easy feeding from the

central aisle so that staff no longer had to go through the flock to get to the feeders.

How facilities are organized not only affects the time spent on daily tasks such as feeding

and watering but also influences how much time and effort is going to have to be spent moving

the animals though different locations from late pregnancy until weaning. Locating birthing in

just one barn rather than across several barns cuts down on the time spent traveling between

barns to check for births and care for newborns. Testing out different animal flow designs can

help to determine the easiest yet quickest way to move animals from late pregnancy pens to jugs

after delivery, and from jugs to mixing pens (if used) and then on to larger collective pens for

housing until weaning. If jugs are used, situate them so that litters can be carried to them easily

with dams following, and litters can be herded from them back to group pens with minimal effort

Figure 2-10. Watering system for jugs in above freezing barns, Courtesy, Dan Persons, Pipestone Lamb and Wool Program

28

and time. The American Sheep Industry Association has available a webinar “Reducing Labor at

Lambing Time” that has several examples of planning lambing systems to improve animal flow.

How well organized a farmer is influences the time spent on lamb or kid management

tasks such as ear tagging, docking, and weighing. Organizing tasks into modules with a tote or

tool box containing the required equipment for these activities is an effective way of handling

these tasks (Figure 2-11). Essentially, organizational skills and well planned out facilities help to

save time during lambing and kidding.

A Review of Bonding in Goats and Sheep

Bonding is the formation of an exclusive attachment between a mother (dam) and her

offspring (Figure 2-12). The ewe or doe becomes attached to her own young, after which she will

reject lambs or kids to which she has not bonded. This process is controlled by hormones and

triggered by the action of physically giving birth. The strongest bonding response occurs with a

few minutes to a few hours after parturition. Most ewes and does will form secure bonds after 2

to 4 hours of exposure to their young, although it can take as little as 15 minutes. The first

memories formed are olfactory, or smell memories. These memories are helped along by

components of the mother’s amniotic fluid, which is not only sniffed but licked up as the mother

cleans off her young. By this process, the mother learns her lamb or kid’s smell. She will act

aggressively toward young animals whose smell she does not recognize as that of her own

young.

Figure 2-11. Good organizational skills save time during lambing and kidding

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Because the amniotic fluid provides important smells and other chemical cues, it can be

more difficult to convince a mother to accept kids or lambs that have been washed off or that

have been accidently exposed to a strong foreign smell. Amniotic fluid can be helpful, too –

ewes and does that are about to give birth or have recently done so are very attracted to amniotic

fluid, and so covering a foreign lamb with amniotic fluid can make the young animal more

attractive to the new mother when grafting.

The first time a doe or ewe gives birth, she undergoes more extreme hormonal changes

and experiences much more learning than she will as an experienced mother. She has a lot to

learn, and her brain cells are essentially growing at this time, as she uses areas of her brain for

maternal bonding and recognition, processes she has never had to use before. This is why

bonding can be a slower or more finicky process for a first-time mother. Usually once the mother

gets another boost of bonding hormones stimulated by the young animal nursing, she will settle

in to the maternal role.

For bonding to occur rapidly the ewe or

doe must have the right hormone levels. This

exact hormone mixture only occurs at the time of

birth; the mother’s body has been preparing

itself for months. The physical stretching of the

cervix and birth canal triggers a flood of these

hormones and fast-tracks the learning process

of bonding. The bonding process is time-

sensitive, and its strength decreases with time.

The mother’s strongest response occurs right

during and after she gives birth. She remains

very hormonally primed for around 30 minutes; at this time she can often be induced to form a

maternal bond to a new lamb or kid quite quickly, even within minutes. If her offspring are

immediately taken from her, she can remain responsive to newborn kids or lambs for over twelve

hours. However, if she does form a bond with a kid or lamb, her responsiveness to other young

animals will not persist.

Figure 2-12. Bonding is the formation of exclusive bonds between a dam and her litter’s members

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For several hours after giving birth, a ewe or doe will respond hormonally to physical

stimulation of the cervix and vagina as if she has just delivered another newborn. By this

process, additional lambs or kids may be grafted or fostered onto a dam. This process is known

as vaginocervical stimulation or VCS. Some studies have shown that even when VCS is delayed

until 27 hours after lambing, the majority of dams will still bond with a strange offspring. If the

ewe or doe misses this window for using VCS to promote early bonding, she can still potentially

form a bond with a young animal, but it will take much longer. From a couple of days up to a

week of constant exposure to a young kid or lamb leads to the same bonding hormones and

learning processes seen in rapid bonding, although the progression is less reliable. This slow

bonding is much more likely to be successful in experienced mothers, who already have been

through the learning process once before.

In contrast to the rapid bonding experienced by a dam during the delivery of her young,

the bonding procedure is a longer learning process for the newborn lamb or kid itself. Some

newborns will become exclusive of strange dams shortly after birth while other kids and lambs

have difficulty identifying their own dams for several days. Studies have shown that lambs can

identify their own mothers at a day of age, but that the behavior of the ewe plays a large role.

Lambs respond strongly to ewes expressing maternal behaviors, particularly making low

rumbling noises or low-pitched bleats, and not displaying rejection behaviors. Early recognition

appears to be strongly auditory by both the ewe and lambs, though there has been evidence for

visual recognition as well. Lambs learn to identify their dams’ bleats by 48 hours of age, while

ewes can recognize their lambs’ vocalizations after only 24 hours.

Challenging a lamb or kid at an early age can help it to better differentiate its dam from

other ewes or does. It is important if possible to gradually increase the complexity of the

bonding challenge in terms of the number of dams the kid or lamb is exposed to and the density

of these dams. A lamb or kid that is not allowed to interact with strange dams will have more

difficulty identifying its mother in a large group after separation. The best scenario is to

gradually increase the number of litters in a group, so that the offspring have practice identifying

their own dams without much challenge.

Additionally, some kids and lambs are able to form a strong attachment to their dam

without becoming exclusive with regard to who they are willing to steal milk from. For farmers

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interested in further reading, some research articles with good reviews on either bonding or VCS

include:

1) Lévy, F., Keller, M., Cornilleau, F., Moussu, C., & Ferreira, G. (2010). Vaginocervical

stimulation of ewes induces the rapid formation of a new bond with an alien young

without interfering with a previous bond. Developmental Psychobiology, 52(6), 537–44.

2) Kendrick, K.M., Lévy, F., & Keverne, E. B. (1991). Importance of vaginocervical

stimulation for the formation of maternal bonding in primiparous and multiparous

parturient ewes. Physiology & Behavior, 50, 595-600.

3) Poindron, P., Lévy, F., & Keller, M. (2007). Maternal responsiveness and maternal

selectivity in domestic sheep and goats: the two facets of maternal attachment.

Developmental Psychobiology, 49(1), 54–70.

4) Vallaillet D, Nowak R. (2006). Socio-spatial criteria are important for the establishment

of maternal preference in lambs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 96(3-4):269–280.

5) Vince, M. A. (1993). Newborn lambs and their dams: the interaction that leads to

sucking. Advances in the Study of Behavior, 22, 239–268.

Why do farmers use jugs?

Most dams are housed in fairly high density situations, ≤35 sq. ft. per dam, during barn

lambing or kidding. Many sheep farms in our birthing study could only provide 16 to 25 sq. ft.

per dam during winter birthings. In high density situations, bonding between dams and offspring

is challenging because a doe or ewe’s nesting area is easily disturbed by other animals and she

may become unintentionally separated from her newborns during the critical bonding window.

Therefore, many farmers use jugs (also referred to as claiming pens) when birthing indoors. Jugs

are small pens where individual litters and their respective dams are housed after birthing to give

them opportunity to bond.

In general, does and ewes should not be disturbed during the birthing process but can be

moved with their litters to jugs after birthing is complete. In our study, farms that routinely

moved dams to jugs during labor seemed to have more problems with dystocia and/or failure to

dilate, than farms that did otherwise. We did have farms that had no problem moving dams to

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birthing pens prior to birthing but in these cases, dams were usually moved ≥7 days before their

projected due date to larger (6’*6’) jugs.

Another reason farmers use jugs is to discourage grannying. As mentioned in the

previous section on bonding, amniotic fluid is very attractive to pregnant dams that are close to

birthing and helps to trigger the bonding process. Dominant dams in early labor may disrupt

another dam’s delivery, and claim one or more of her newborns (view video demonstrating

grannying). However, once the “thief” goes into active labor she will often abandon the stolen

newborns in favor of her own. Unfortunately, the original mother may now be unwilling to

accept the stolen offspring. Putting litters into jugs soon after birthing helps to combat grannying

issues. However, if a farmer observes a ewe or doe starting to exhibit grannying, it is often best

to put the grannying dam into a jug so she can focus on her own labor rather than disrupting the

new mother. The new mother and her litter can be moved to a jug after birthing is complete.

Some farms with low animal density only use jugs when dealing with health problems or

resolving mis-mothering issues. The dam is restrained in a jug or head lock as soon as the farmer

notices her rejecting a lamb or kid. If there is no reason for the rejection (such as dam and

offspring got accidently separated shortly after birth, mastitis, sharp offspring teeth requiring

filing, etc.), the dam should be recorded for possible culling. Sometimes a first time dam is very

attracted to her offspring but hesitant to let them nurse (view before and after videos). In this

case, farmers often use jugs to temporarily restrain her and put her newborns to the teat. The

hormones released during nursing quickly counter her inhibition and depending on flock density

she and her litter can quickly be released back into a paddock with other dams and offspring.

The optimum amount of time to leave a litter in a jug depends on many factors. If the jug

is just being used to help a first time dam over her inhibition to nursing, 10 minutes in a jug may

suffice. If the jugs are situated in the warmest part of the barn of a very cold barn to provide

warmth in the critical hours immediately after birth, the litter may be released once all members

are well dried and belly full (often within 8 to 12 hours) to make room for newer litters in critical

need of the extra warmth. Some farms leave their litters in jugs for 2 to 4 days to facilitate

bonding and complete several management tasks.

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Many farmers in our study were able to take care of several management tasks while

moving a litter to a jug. Tasks that are easily done at this time include cord-dipping, ear-tagging,

weighing, sexing, recording data, checking bellies to confirm that newborns have nursed and

putting them to the teat if not, etc. There are also several later tasks that can be done as the litter

is removed from the jug. Dam’s hooves will often soften and become easier to trim after a few

days in a bedded jug. Offspring will also be better able to take the pain of castration or

disbudding after extra time in a jug. Tail docking and tattooing can also be done in the jug rather

than having to chase offspring down later to restrain them for these tasks. View a video of

efficiently using a jug to complete management tasks.

As mentioned in the previous section on bonding, leaving a litter in a jug for too many

days may actually slow down the bonding process by keeping the litter from learning to

distinguish between dams. After jugging, litters are moved into group pens (Figure 2-13). In

cases where lambs and kids leave jugs at relatively early ages (<1 day) or are part of a large

litter, the litter is often moved to a small pen with just a subset of dams in it. These pens are

called mixing pens and help a litter to continue the bonding learning process without being

challenged by too many dams too soon. Most farmers in our study varied the time spent in jugs

depending in large part on litter size. In many cases, singles were not put in jugs or just left there

for ≤1 day. Litters of triplets or more were often given more time in jugs or moved from jugs to

mixing pens reserved for large litters.

In our study, the most popular size for jugs for

single and twin litters was 4’ x 5’ while litters with

triplets or more commonly used larger jug space. We

did have one farm in our study that built their jugs

around a ewe’s nesting area after birthing was complete

to avoid disrupting the bonding process. However, this

farm had designed their birthing paddocks so that they

bordered a central aisle with several large box mangers

extending into each paddock. The paddock walls were

lined with staples so that hinged pairs of panels could

have one side tied to the exterior walls and the other to

Figure 2-13. Birthing pen on the left, mixing pen on the right. Jugs run down the middle and open from both sides to allow easy animal flow from lambing pens to bonding jugs and back to group pens.

34

the box mangers. Panels were only 4’ long but multiple pairs of panels could be used to

configure larger jugs as needed.

When designing jugs, consider your primary reason for using them. If the goal is to

address the issue of too cold a barn, situate them where wind chill is least likely to be a problem

or where sky lights, insulation, wind breaks, and/or artificial heating can be employed. If you

plan to only use them for exceptional situations involving sick or weak animals, mis-mothering,

or orphans needing fostering, place a few jugs in the corners of your birthing pens.

Design jugs for easy set up and dismantle. Jugs often need to be bedded in between litters

so locate bedding within easy reach. Water is a time consuming activity in jugs so make sure

jugs are near a reliable water source. Only a few farmers in our study preferred solid walled jugs

citing that solid walls encouraged the dams to focus only on their litter and helped cut down on

draft. However, lambs and kids in solid walled jugs do not get to interact with other dams and

these farmers generally put litters into mixing pens after removing them from the solid jugs

rather than turning them out into large groups. Mesh panels are easy to pour water through and

encourage lambs and kids to interact through the mesh with other animals. However, they need

to be lifted up periodically to keep their bottoms from getting buried in bedding. Wooden panels

are less likely to have this problem and may be easier to open and close but are heavier to carry.

Some farms that birth indoors have low enough birthing densities that they do not need to

use jugs but instead leave the litters in their original nesting areas within the “pregnant” paddock.

Eventually all the dams give birth converting the pen to a “dam and offspring” paddock. In other

cases, a farmer may have a paddock for pregnant does bordering a “birthing” paddock for dams

that are very close to birthing with movable panels separating the two paddocks. Very pregnant

dams are moved to the birthing paddocks in groups several days before birthing to avoid any

single dam being singled out as an intruder by does already in the paddock. The panels are

moved farther into the original “pregnant” paddock as more and more dams move to the birthing

area to give them more space. Birthing density is low enough that jugs are not employed.

Instead, litters remain in the birthing paddock and it gradually becomes a paddock of dams and

offspring.

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Figure 2-15. Gravity flow lamb bar

Artificial Rearing

Artificial rearing is a time commitment that adds up over the course of many weeks.

Prices for milk replacer have also increased rapidly over time. However, artificial rearing often

has long term benefits for a farm family. It is a task that is easily performed and enjoyed by

young family members and may serve to bond the next generation to a farm’s livestock.

Newborn lambs and kids are easily trained to bottles while kids or lambs that have

already imprinted on their dam’s udder tend to be more resistant. If the plan is to continue

feeding bottles to a group of lambs or kids, plan on using larger bottles that can feed multiple

animals and/or design a bottle rack so that animals can be fed simultaneously. Keep in mind that

bottles are time consuming to properly clean. Storing empty bottles in the refrigerator in

between uses can cut down on the amount of times they need to be washed daily.

If planning to switch lambs or kids to a lamb bar,

accustom them to a similar nipple as used on the lamb

bar as soon as they are readily nursing (Figure 2-14 &

2-15). This makes the switch to the lamb bar quicker and

easier. Try to avoid introducing lots of changes all at

once. For example, if possible, get young animals

accustomed to cold milk before or after they are started

Figure 2-14. Using the same nipples on bottles and lamb bars can ease the transition. Helping with these chores help bond youth to a farm's livestock

36

on the lamb bar rather than simultaneously. Same thing goes with making the switch from

colostrum to milk replacer or from a gravity flow system to one that requires active sucking.

Keep in mind that the ambient temperature (particularly if below freezing) affects how cold the

milk can be for young animals to readily consume and grow well on. Additionally, ad lib feeding

of cold milk in a lamb bar is difficult in a freezing barn because the milk may quickly freeze.

When choosing a lamb bar system and accompanying nipples, consider how many

animals you need to feed simultaneously, whether milk is provided by gravity flow or by

sucking, the volume of milk needed, how easy the lamb bar is to leave unattended and the ease of

cleaning it. Organize things so that it’s easy to get the milk or milk replacer ready and to clean

equipment afterwards. If there are children on the farm, try to utilize them for artificial feeding

tasks once lambs or kids are readily nursing.

Fostering or grafting newborns

In contrast to artificial rearing, fostering (grafting) newborns that cannot be raised by

their own dams onto strange dams is not time consuming in the long term if successful. Instead,

the total time commitment generally takes place within the first week of fostering. When

successful, grafting: 1) reduces or eliminates the need for artificial rearing, 2) improves animal

performance and ultimate welfare, and 3) reduces labor inputs during birth period.

Grafting is more likely to be successful when a large number of dams are birthing at the

same time, thus permitting more matching opportunities between offspring needing fostering and

recipient dams. Techniques that concentrate the birthing period include having a high ration of

sires to dams during breeding and/or exposing dams to sires a few days prior to breeding so that

dams become synchronized and the majority of dams come into heat within 7 days of the

breeding males being put in the flock. Some examples of using the “buck or ram effect” are

leading a buck through the herd daily, exposing ewes to a vasectomized teaser ram, or putting

breeding males across a sturdy permanent fence from the breeding group prior to the start of

actual breeding.

In choosing dams and offspring for fostering, you need to consider both the milk supply

of your dams and the milk requirement of their litters. You need to figure out ways to fool the

dams and newborns with respect to both the maternal bond and the newborn’s sucking drive.

37

WET grafting - In general, grafting is more successful when the foster dam is “wet” or

“slimy” versus when she is “dry”. In WET grafting, the foster dam is in the midst of giving birth

or has given birth within the last 24 hours. If possible, conduct the graft while the foster dam is

still in her nesting area and prior to her getting up from birthing. Otherwise you may want to

move her into a jug and administer vaginocertvical stimulation (VCS).

Doing VCS - Using lubricant and sterile gloves, gently check the dam for additional

fetuses. If there are no additional fetuses, move your hand back slightly and start VCS by

moving your arm slowly but firmly forward and back to stretch the neck of the cervix. Run your

knuckles back and forth along the roof of the uterus to simulate labor and encourage

contractions. If the cervix is already closing up and/or the dam has already passed the afterbirths,

you should not need to check for more fetuses and instead would put your hand in the vagina and

gently push your fingers back and forth into the cervix as far as you can reach. The dam may be

upset at first but should start to curl her upper lip, stretch her neck and head, stiffen her legs and

start contracting if the VSC is successful. Wipe amniotic fluid from her own newborns or from

her nesting area all over the graftee (the kid or lamb you plan to foster onto her). Feces from her

own newborns and milk from her udder can also be put on the rear and back of the graftee. If she

goes through a hard contraction as if delivering a fetus, the graftee can be placed in front of her.

Otherwise continue VSC for 5 to 15 minutes. During the last couple of minutes put the graftee in

front of her so that she can start to show interest in it. Please note, VCS is also very helpful when

a dam has failed to bond successfully with her kids. For example, in the event that a newborn

got accidently separated from its dam or if another dam temporarily stole the newborn.

Ideally, the graftee should not have already bonded with its own dam or imprinted onto a

bottle. In our study, farms that extensively used fostering averaged very high lambing

percentages (~2.5 lambs/ewe). They made fostering decisions at birth based on the number of

lambs in the litter, the natural mother’s probable milk supply and the likelihood of several ewes

lambing within the next 48 hours. On one farm, potential graftees were taken from their dam

immediately and put in a warming box with forced air heating provided by an inexpensive

electric heater in a separate area. Potential graftees were tube fed rather than bottle fed to

maintain their “natural nursing” drive. Tube feeding was limited to 24 to 48 hours maximum

with the goal of identifying a recipient foster dam within this limited time period.

38

Often a farm does not have the guarantee that a potential dam will show up and must

leave a large litter on a dam with a questionable milk supply or put a newborn on a bottle. If a

potential foster dam does appear, choose as your graftee a member of the litter who appears

eager to nurse from any source. If the graftee has already bonded with its dam or a bottle, make

sure it cannot escape the recipient dam’s jug to search for either you or its original dam. Some

people suggest tying its legs so that it will appear to be uncertain on its feet like a newborn.

However some dams are very suspicious of graftees that flail around struggling against restraints.

Table 2-1. How to foster a lamb or kid using VCS (vaginocervical stimulation)

1. Ewe with 2 dead lambs and 1 live lamb lambing at the same time as ewe with live triplets.

2. Check deep for additional lambs. Then retract gloved hand slightly and start VCS to simulate birthing and stretch the neck of the cervix, thus causing the release of the bonding hormones.

3. Meanwhile another person takes the hopeful graftee and places fetal fluids from the foster dam onto the graftee. After a contraction, the graftee is put in front of foster dam and VCS continued.

4. Successful graft. Same procedures will work on goats.

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DRY graft - In many cases, the only foster dam available has given birth too long ago to

attempt VCS. We can refer to these situations as “dry grafts”. DRY Grafts take more time to

“take” than wet grafts. The newborn lamb or kid is being adopted into an already established

litter and there is no delivery taking place to cause the release of bonding hormones. The foster

dam will often appear to accept the newborn initially. She may lick off its amniotic fluid and

allow it to nurse without being restrained. However, once the fetal fluids on the newborn are dry

she will often attack it. The procedure can be significantly helped along if the ewe or doe was

identified as a prospective “adopter” at birthing and a sock or coat of absorbent material

immediately placed on her existing offspring. When a potential graftee comes along the sock

can be pulled off her offspring and inverted and put on the graftee. This may shorten the time

needed to accept the graftee. However, as mentioned in the section on bonding it can take up to a

week of constant exposure to a young kid or lamb to lead to the same amount of bonding

hormones as occur during an actual delivery or VCS.

When conducting a dry graft, try to use a head gate or stanchion (Figure 2-16) to restrain

the foster dam and keep her from being able to smell or see the lamb or kid initially. If no head

lock is available, the recipient dam can be haltered and tied up short in a jug making sure she

cannot jump over the jug panels

and possibly strangle. Goat

hobbles can be put on her hind

legs to keep her from kicking at

the graftee and discouraging it

from nursing. Try to confuse the

dam’s sense of smell and sight to

make it difficult for her to

differentiate between her own

offspring and the graftee. Her

milk and offspring feces can repeatedly be put on the graftee’s rear end. A strong but pleasant

smell (peppermint oil, neatsfoot oil, mentholatum, etc.) can be put on the recipient dam’s nostrils

and on all the offspring to confuse her. Keeping lights off at night helps discourage her from

visually identifying her litter.

Figure 2-16. A stanchion and hobbles are helpful tools for conducting dry grafts. View other successful set-ups.

40

Plan on putting the graftee to the teat at least 3 to 4 times a day to make sure it is getting

enough milk. If a head restraint and/or hobbles are not used, the entire litter may need to be

housed in a jug adjoining the foster dam’s and presented to her several times a day for nursing in

order to make sure the graftee is able to get its allotment of milk. A first time mother who has

bonded with her own single offspring or her dead newborns is more likely to be fooled into

accepting a graftee than an experienced dam who has already inventoried her litter. However, a

first time dam who failed to bond with her dead fetuses is an unlikely candidate for fostering as

she has not been through the initial learning process. After 7 days, evaluate the success of the

graft. In some cases, the dam never actually bonds with the graftee but instead learns to tolerate

it nursing whenever her own offspring suckle.

Dry grafts are less challenging if the adopting dam has lost all of her own offspring

because her udder will welcome the relief of nursing. It is especially likely to succeed if her dead

offspring’s hide is placed on the graftee. The dead offspring can be skinned like a commercial

fryer rabbit (cut off head, hang by hind legs, make incision from one hock to the other and pull

off hide) or cut down the belly and the hide fisted off.

Handling animals

Herd management tasks such as ear tagging or deworming go much faster and stress free

if you have some method to crowd and work animals. Catching individual animals for treatment

is also easier if cornering and restraining the animal can be done easily. Have you invested in

handling facilities or equipment? Are you skilled at catching animals with a leg or neck crook?

Having a stockpile of hinged wooden sheep panels around is useful regardless of whether

you raise sheep or goats. Panels generally need to be taller for goats than sheep and lengths

generally vary from 4 to 6 feet. They should be light enough for farm helpers to readily use them.

Metal meshed livestock panels cut in various lengths or left whole and clipped together can also

be used to squeeze animals into a section of a barn or pasture for working.

Fence line feeders can be equipped with self-locking mechanisms to restrain animals for

vaccinating or goats for hoof trimming. Commercial handling equipment is a considerable

investment. However, most commercial equipment is well tested and designed to cut down

substantially on the number of people needed to work large numbers of animals. If possible try

out different brands and configurations to figure out what will best meet your needs. When

designing new barns, alleyways, and barn yards take into account the need to work animals.

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Creep Feeding

In our 4 year study, setting up creep feeder areas and

providing feed in them on a regular basis took very little

time. Creep feeders were an efficient method to adjust for

the increased nutritional needs of large litters and permitted

litters of variable sizes to be easily mixed together once

offspring were ready to consume solid food. Some farmers

who had lost lambs or kids due to offspring piling on each

other to keep warm installed heat lamps in their creep feeders

to encourage offspring to congregate there even before they

were starting to consume grain to cut down on the risk of

piling. However, as mentioned earlier, there are always fire

risks when using heat lamps. Locating creep feeders in draft

free areas or under skylights may also address mothering issues. Planning ahead when designing

or situating a creep feeder so that lambs or kids can be easily confined in them at need, allows

creep feeders to serve a double purpose as working areas for vaccinating, deworming and

weighing young stock (Figure 2-17).

Summary

Labor requirements and feed expenses generally increase during lambing and kidding.

However, there are many benefits from farmers not overexerting themselves during birthing

season. Planning ahead so that a human presence is not mandatory for a safe delivery helps to cut

down on stress and exhaustion. Modest investments in making facilities or equipment more

suitable to the birthing season also result in substantial savings in terms of labor demands and

heating, bedding and feed costs. Good organizational skills cut down on the amount of time

needed to move animals and to conduct management tasks. Therefore, try to take the time each

year to evaluate your birthing practices and determine whether any changes are possible to

decrease farm expenses, labor inputs, and stress without adversely affecting herd productivity.

Figure 2-17. Most creep areas are easily blocked with a livestock panel to double as a handling facility

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Suggested Activities

1. Using your past records, identify a goat or sheep health problem that has negatively affected

your herd’s performance. Develop a written standard of procedure (SOP) for this herd health

problem with clearly outlined steps describing symptoms, treatment and prevention. See

sample SOPs in Appendix I through V.

2. Evaluate ways to improve the lambing or kidding procedure at your farm with special regard

to ways to save labor when checking for births and processing newborns.

3. Sketch the animal flow on your farm from:

Prior to births Birthing Shortly post birth Pre-weaning

For example, from “Dropping Pens” to “Jugs” to “Mixing Pens” to larger pens or

pastures. Be sure to include the availability of gates, the distances between these

different areas and the time required to move from area to area.

Determine possible ways to save labor and time when transferring animals through these

production phases. A sample barn plan outlining animal flow in one large barn is

available in Appendix VI of this handbook.

4. Calculate the nutritional value of your late pregnancy and lactation diets for either the

previous or upcoming year and compare them to the nutritional requirements listed in one of

the following ration builders. Most of these ration builders provide average nutritional

values for different grains and forages. However, you may want to obtain feed analyses for

your specific forages, concentrates or total mixed rations through companies such as Dairy

One, 730 Warren Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850, ph: 800-496-3344, forage@dairyone.com. If using

conventional feed ingredients and forages, NIR analyses is adequate.

Ration builders:

Institute for Goat Research Ration Balancer

Cornell Sheep Program’s Feedform

Univ. of Maryland Ext. Sheep and Meat Goat Ration Evaluator

Montana State Univ. Sheep Ration Program